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Re: Going back to work..

Originally Posted by @llli*laurabetty10

I'm worried that being gone all day and only feeding him in the mornings and night will totally ruin my supply and quickly end breast feeding. I want to continue to BF as long as possible, even if it is only in the mornings and nights. What can I do to keep this up? Will my supply stay around even if I only feed him 3-4 times a day?

My LO is currently 3 weeks and 2 days old. Until yesterday, he had not breastfed (or rather, moved milk) since birth.

I pump EVERY time it's time for him to eat (after bottle feeding him), and I currently produce 4-5 oz of milk at each pump. I didn't think it was a lot, but my LC said it was a good bit considering the average of what a mom of 3 weeks would get when she pumps. (She jokingly reassures me that since I'm pumping gallons he won't be going hungry etc

So now that he is starting to hang out on the breast again and actually move milk, I still pump somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5-3 oz.

Pumping for 3 weeks has not at all hurt my supply--and breastfeeding wasn't even well established yet for me.

(What did hurt it, though, was those non caffeinated sodas that I thought I could get away with. Just drink water. :O )

I haven't returned to work yet, but I will in a few weeks. I'll have to pump while at work and BF while at home (like you..).

Re: Going back to work..

^^^ That was while NOT BF at all, btw. Like none. Since he had weight issues and energy issues I had to go to only bottle feeding him expressed breast milk. Like, literally, 3 weeks of him not moving any milk from the breast at all.

Re: Going back to work..

Since you haven't seen good results with the Purely Yours yet, you might want to look into a different pump with differently sized shields. If your shield size is off, that could explain why you're not getting great output yet.

Re: Going back to work..

Originally Posted by @llli*mommal

Since you haven't seen good results with the Purely Yours yet, you might want to look into a different pump with differently sized shields. If your shield size is off, that could explain why you're not getting great output yet.

Or the same pump with different size shields. I have a Purely Yours and saw a huge difference in output when I changed sizes. I had a significant oversupply and didn't get much from pumping when I was using ill fitting shields.

Re: Going back to work..

My advice is to cosleep (if you are not already doing so) and nurse freely so your baby gets most of his milk at night - reverse cycling.
I went back to work at 14weeks with my 2nd. I barely had a stash the first day and just scraped by pumping enough from the day before. I made up by this by nursing freely at night. And then at 5-6 months, I was able to send him with some snacks. I was able to avoid formula.
Good luck!!